A rock solid investment in Thailand

04-03-2014
By PRESS INFORMATION

Keeping a quarry in action for 24 hours a day is not easy – but one Thai company, based in Chonburi Province, relies on Volvo Construction Equipment’s fast and effective maintenance service to ensure its fleet of wheel loaders and excavators are up-and-running day and night.

Mueang Chonburi is the capital district of Chonburi Province, which lies on the coast of Eastern Thailand, 80km from the country’s capital of Bangkok. The district, famous for its picturesque sandy beaches, is abundant in limestone and local business Silasinsubamut Ltd. runs a quarry to extract the multi-purpose rock. The blasted rock is transported to a sister company, Sinsubkiri Ltd. Partnership, where the rock is crushed to size and used in the construction industry. Both companies have recorded a steady increase in demand for stone despite political turbulence in the country leading to a slow-down in some industries.

“The region has benefitted from the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and we hope to see this growth trend continue as a result,” explains Khun Kritsada Kitjarobhat, general manager of the stone quarry and crushing plant. He refers to the agreement made between member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – which includes Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam – that aims to form a single market and production base for the region to compete in the global economy.

Kitjarobhat’s main concern when purchasing machinery to keep the sites running is uptime. “This is a tough, heavy-duty environment, and if one of our machines breaks down, we incur the cost of reduced productivity on top of repair expenses,” he says. “Therefore we put great emphasis on our machinery being good quality, durable and sustainable in this kind of application.”

Volvo demonstrates strength in action

Between the two companies, Kitjarobhat owns three Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) excavators including two EC360 BLCs and one EC460 BLC for extracting stone at the quarry, as well as one Volvo L150 E-Series and one L150 G-Series wheel loader to load the rock at the crushing plant.

After witnessing a Volvo machine demonstration, Kitjarobhat was impressed by the equipment’s strength and durability and went on to purchase a Volvo CE machine to test it against other brands for himself. “I had been aware of Volvo’s reputation for quite some time but after owning and using its machines I definitely won’t hesitate to order more,” he says. “I’ve been very impressed with the machines’ strength, especially when moving heavy loads over a considerable period of time. It doesn’t show any sign of fatigue unlike other brands in the same conditions.”

he L150 G-Series wheel loader features a 13 litre high torque, low rev Volvo engine that delivers high performance and low emissions. Its Volvo-patented Optishift transmission offers unmatched fuel efficiency and ease of operation – and combined with the Volvo-made axles, the G-Series offers a full turn tipping load of 17.2 tonnes, a 20% increase in lifting force and a 10% increase in break-out force compared to its predecessor. In addition, new piston pumps and hoses can handle increased pressure – enabling better control of the load and attachments.

Fast and effective service support

Khun Suwat Panomphai, head of maintenance at the stone quarry, says that aftersales support was a major factor when considering which brand of construction equipment to buy. “The majority of similar businesses in the area have chosen Volvo excavators and wheel loaders because word spread about the brand’s excellent aftersales service,” he says. “Volvo has set up an expert team to look after our needs so it makes sense for us to keep using Volvo.”

“Volvo offers high quality equipment with longer life cycles compared with other brands,” adds Kitjarobhat. “Volvo equipment is more durable and saves fuel, which will help us in the long run because our quarry covers nearly 20 acres of land and our machinery is functional 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Care for the community

Silasinsubsamut Ltd. takes its responsibility to care for the local community very seriously and has partnered with the Chonburi Stone Quarry Association to reduce its impact on the local environment. Local quarries in the area have agreed to stagger explosions to blast the rock in a bid to reduce noise pollution – and the company has grown trees around its site to avoid dust permeating the outside air.

“The health of our staff and local people is our main concern,” Kijarobhat explains. “We provide all of our employees and people from the surrounding communities with an annual health check as well as investing in support for schools. We also take responsibility to maintain the roads that carry the weight of our heavy equipment to minimize our impact on those living nearby.”